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MLB Picks

MLB Picks of the Day: Opening Day Hottest Odds to Play & Maximize Your Profit!

From noon to midnight, baseball roars back to life Monday 14 games on the MLB odds slate. Everything begins in New York where the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jays vs. Yankees Square Off In Bronx
It will be a big day of firsts when the New York Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon. For starters, it's the first MLB odds game on the Opening Day schedule as the AL East rivals get underway on ESPN at 1 PM (ET).

New York will be taking the field to begin a season without Derek Jeter at shortstop for the first time since 1996. The Yankees will also be sending someone other than CC Sabathia to the hill for an Opening Day start for the first time since 2008, and they'll have a guy named Alex Rodriguez in the lineup for the first time since the end of the 2013 campaign.

Both starting pitchers, Drew Hutchison for Toronto and New York's Masahiro Tanaka will be making their first Opening Day starts. The Yankees went out at -150 on the baseball betting board, but can be had for a little less at most sports books monitored by SBR's live MLB odds. An 8 run total is favoring the 'under' at most outlets.

Both teams are chasing the Boston Red Sox (+175) on the futures odds in the AL East, Toronto second on the list at +250 while New York sits fourth (+400). The Yankees have won four straight season series from the Blue Jays, compiling a 47-27 record in that span and owning Toronto at the newest rendition of Yankee Stadium (42-14). New York won seven of the 10 played on this diamond a year ago, the totals running 6-3-1 O/U/P.

Chien-Ming Wang beat Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays by a 3-2 count the last time someone other than CC Sabathia started a season opener for the Yankees. I'm looking for the tables to turn and will make my free pick on Toronto beating the Bronx jinx today.

Chalky Nats Open At Home vs. Mets
New York's other team will be on the road to begin the 2015 MLB betting schedule, and the Mets are tasked with beating the team expected to win it all this season as they begin a 4-game set in the nation's capital against the Washington Nationals.

The second of a full day of games on ESPN, first pitch in DC is set for 4 PM (ET). Max Scherzer, Washington's big free agent signing in the offseason, will deliver that toss while the Mets send Bartolo Colon to the mound. Backing the Nats will cost bettors around -170 to -180 with a 7 run total priced to the low side.

Colon lost four of his five starts against the DC 9 last season, his lone victory coming in Washington where the Mets have done a decent job since Nationals Park opened in 2008 (Washington 34-29). Scherzer is taking the bump in DC for the first time ever, and is 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA vs. New York in three starts and a relief appearance.

Washington has won last four season series, compiling a 51-23 record in that span, and Scherzer is coming out of a solid spring giving me enough reason to lay a little chalk on the home side.

Improved Astros Host Tribe In Houston
I'll be among the sold-out crowd in Houston where the Astros take on the Cleveland Indians in ESPN's prime-time tilt (ET). Reigning AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber gets the ball from Tribe chief Terry Francona; Dallas Keuchel is the anointed Opening Day hurler for AJ Hinch who is making his managerial debut for the Astros.

Cleveland is a slight +115 favorite on the MLB odds where 7½ ( -115) is the total.

Houston is expected to make a legitimate run at .500 for the first time after a busy offseason for GM Jeff Luhnow. The biggest improvements were made in the bullpen where the Astros ranked last in 2014 with a 4.80 ERA. Cleveland is projected to have an even better season in what should be a wide open AL Central. Kluber headlines a young Indians rotation and led the American League in 2014 with 18 victories.

The Astros have really struggled against the Indians since joining the AL in 2013, the Tribe 11-3 overall and 5-2 in Houston. All four games at Minute Maid Park in 2014 failed to reach the total, tempting me to go 'under' that mark. Instead, I like the price on Kluber and the visitors for my final free MLB pick of the day.